VPUD ORANGUTAN FRIENDLY

UPCOMING FOOD FAYRES / FARMERS MARKETS.

GREAT NORTHERN COOK OFF

FOOD NORTH WEST AWARDS

EAST LANCS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

EUROPEAN SUCCESS STORY

Message From Andy

Dear Customer

A lot has been happening at The Real Lancashire Black Pudding Co. over the last few months and we have put together some info to keep you informed with news of our new products and recent awards for producing prize winning black puddings. Slowly but surely we have been replacing the RS Ireland name with our new company name

THE REAL LANCASHIRE BLACKPUDDING Co.and this year will see the RS Ireland name with a much lower profile.

New Company Status

On the 1 st April 2007 we became a limited company. Andrew is now Managing Director with his niece, Sara Lusty a director and Company Secretary. Sara joined the business in 2000 whilst studying for a law degree and is currently working toward the ACCA accountancy qualification. Sara is in charge of the day to day administration with Andrew concentrating on sales and production. As a family firm they will continue to provide a friendly service with an emphasis on quality.

Thanks

Thank you to everyone who donated prizes for our September Black Pudding Festival. We raised a grand total of £3,700 for Derian House Children's Hospice.

V Pud Sales Soar

Since introducing non-hydrogenated vegetable oil into the world's first vegetarian black pudding sales of the new V pud have soared.

Now we only use vegetable oil from sustainable plantations where the slash and burn policy is not practiced, thus protecting the eco-system. This means that not only are our V puds vegetarian they are orangutan friendly too!

The Great Northern Cook Off'.

Andrew is gaining a reputation not only for producing the countries finest Black puddings but also for his culinary prowess. He was asked participate in 'The Great Northern Cook Off' in a team named 'The Surgeons' representing 'The Pennine Lancashire food Festival'. The event is to run for 3months during which the participants will be given some rigorous tasks to perform. The first leg was held at ' South Trafford College '. The day consisted of a demonstration by the college chefs were they produced a three course meal and the contestants had to replicate it in the college kitchens. For the starter they made 'open salmon and sole lasagne with prawn sauce' followed by 'Moroccan spiced rump of lamb, roasted Mediterranean vegetable couscous and minted yogurt'. With 'Vanilla pannacotta with balsamic marinated strawberries and hazelnut tuile biscuits'. The team was judged on various aspects of their work including ability to work as a team organisational skills and of course the taste and presentation of the meal itself. The team which consisted of Andrew , Neil and Tracey Bullows from the award winning 'Whitehall Hotel' and Jacqui Livesey tourist officer for Darwen and Blackburn. "We were very pleased with our efforts and we think that we probably did enough to progress to the next round" said a confident Andrew. The next round will be held in August and will be a 'Ready steady cook 'type event. The team from 'Pennine Lancashire festival of Food and Culture' will be very busy during the next few months with the organisation of the festival which runs from August through to October has many different events included within it. The main events are on the weekend 6-9 the of September. For more details visit the website www.penninelancashirefood.co.uk

'Food Northwest Awards'

The Real Lancashire Black Pudding Co. was proud to be nominated for a prestigious award in 'The Food Northwest Awards' which celebrate the regions excellent food and drink industry.  The theme for this years awards was 'Enterprise and Innovation'.  The award up for grabs was 'The Bank of Ireland Award for the Most Innovative Product'.  The product nominated was the V Pud (vegetarian black pudding).

The presentation was at the Midland Hotel in Manchester and was hosted by Lucy Meacock from Granada television. "It was a very 'Glitzy' ceremony and it was extremely posh" said Andrew "We were very proud to be awarded runners up especially when you take the illustrious opposition into account." Some of the biggest names in the food industry were represented at the awards including Heinz, Warburtons, Sunvalley, Pataks and Soreen. Director Sara Lusty who accompanied Andrew to the awards said "As a small family business we feel honoured to be in such company and you could hear a murmur go around the room when we were introduced. Next year we hope we will get first place".

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce Awards.

On Friday night Andrew attended the awards at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel. The award was for 'marketing and P.R' "This prize was the icing on the cake for us" said Andrew. The company has won over 150 for their products and they are justifiably proud of this, but to win awards for the business is just as important and especially when awarded by some of the biggest names in the East Lancashire business world. The judges were particularly impressed by the high profile achieved by 'The Real Lancashire black Pudding company'. On a limited budget they have managed to keep their name in the forefront and have had plenty of coverage on television with shows like 'Rick Stein's food Heroes', 'The Great British Menu', 'Grubs up' and 'The 'F' word.. "We pride ourselves with our pro-active approach to marketing and P.R and we are fully aware of its importance". said Andrew. "Our 'Mission Statement' is to be the first name mentioned when people talk about Black Puddings" and we think we are doing very well.                                                                                                  

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European success story'

British Champion in France and Belgium

The Real Lancashire Black Pudding Co. has won yet more awards in a European campaign that saw them sweep the board in Two major international competitions.

Andrew travelled to Mortagne-au-perche in France with some of his “Black Pudding Creations.The puddings were entered in the biggest and most prestigious “Black Pudding competition in the world” with over 600 entrants from all over Europe . They were awarded with the “Grande Prix de Excellence” (National champions).

From France Andrew and his travelling companions then drove to Charleroi in Belgium to pick up 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal plus the ‘Grand prix de excellence'(British Champion.) in a glittering award ceremony held by ‘les Compagnons de la Gastronomie Porcine' The competition was held February with over 400 products entered. ‘These awards are not easy to come by. The standards are very high indeed and we feel that they verify the quality of our products' said Andrew.

‘Undisputed British Champions'

The Real Lancashire Black Pudding Co. has been judged to be ‘Supreme British Champion Black pudding Makers' in the ‘National Supreme Products' competition held at the N.E.C In Birmingham on Sunday the 6 th of April 2008. Coupled with 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal won in another competition in Holland it turned out to be a very fruitful weekend.

Over the past few months the company has also been voted ‘British Champions' in France , Belgium , and Holland . “Although the awards given in foreign competitions are very prestigious they are not as important to me as the ‘ British ' ‘British Championship”, said Andrew . “In foreign competitions we are up against very stiff opposition but our products are not judged ‘like for like', just on their own merits and so I was overjoyed when I was informed that we had been voted the ‘Best in Britain ' . I feel that it rewards the hard work put in by our staff to maintain our very high standards. So the achievement is considered a team effort”.

We have now won a grand total of 156 awards for our products from all over Britain and Europe . We are without doubt the most highly decorated Black pudding Makers in Britain .

Even our staff are champions

Our team were also keen to get in on the action so between themselves they came up with a recipe to enter into ‘ The Supreme Products Competition' . They came up with the idea of a black pudding meat loaf and together they devised the seasoning and ingredients. It was mixed in the production area then taken to the canteen to be cooked. ‘We then did a few tasting sessions in some of the local hostelries and tweaked the recipe a bit further until it was to our satisfaction' said Diane Maudsely Who cooked the loaf. ‘My father better watch out' said Andrews son Brett. We might beat him soon.

Upcoming food festivals and farmers markets.

We have agents who regularly visit local food shows and farmers markets selling our prized products.  Here is a list of events where you can catch them and sample our award winning Black Puddings.

Farmers Markets

Shows

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